KETRB: Why it’s necessary to support local MSMEs

By James Kahongeh

Four years since its establishment, the Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board (KETRB) has already registered 1,200 engineering technologists and technicians. Another 500 applications for

registration are being processed as the Board continues to organise the industry.

“We’re yet to get to where we want to be, but we’re pleased that the number is growing,” says KETRB CEO Alice Mutai (P.Eng.Tech), who is also the Hon Secretary of the Institution of Engineering Technologists and Technicians of Kenya (IET-K).

KETRB was established in 2016 to register and license professionals in the engineering technology space in the country. Its membership constitute engineering technologists, technicians, craft-persons, artisans and professionals in other related fields.

The Board also keeps a database of these professionals and often links them up with clients who need their services.

For instance, Kenya’s construction industry hires skilled, semi-skilled and non-skilled personnel to work on sites. Findings of a 2014 survey done by the National Construction Authority (NCA) showed that the country had more than 500,000 such workers then. It’s for this reason that KETRB was established.

Ms Mutai says: “We continue to reach out to employers and TVET institutions with information on who is eligible for registration.”

For many years, employers did not formally recognise technologists. With more awareness being created, a number of them have reviewed their human resource policies, leading to better placement of such professionals at the workplace.

“When technologists are placed well, the technicians are also placed in their rightful place within an organisation. This consequently translates to better remuneration for these professionals,” explains Ms Mutai.

For technicians running MSMEs, registration means better business, says Ms Mutai says. “This is because they are recognised as professionals. Their work also measures up to the required standards, which translates to better pay for work done.”

Recognition of practitioners also builds confidence of clients in MSMEs and their role in the society, Ms Mutai adds.

Before giving out business, she says, clients are now demanding that service providers must be registered and licensed to operate.

On how Kenyan tech standards compare with the rest of the world, Ms Mutai argues that Kenya is making a strong case for herself. She, however, notes that a lot more work needs to be done to rope in more engineering technologists and to create awareness for better visibility.

“Kenyans are very enterprising. They put in a lot of work and research in their products. We have items in Kenya that match similar ones made elsewhere in the world. This makes them globally competitive,” says the KETRB CEO.

For most technologists and technicians in Kenya, the biggest hindrance to their practice is inadequate resources or no resources at all.

“Rental premises are often costly, and sometimes this space is only available in an environment that’s not conducive for business,” Ms Mutai observes.

Additionally, the cost of quality materials is prohibitive. This forces the professionals to resort to inferior raw materials, which in turn compromise the quality of products.

There is also poor remuneration that pushes them to work on different jobs to make ends meet.

How then can support for MSMEs be enhanced? The KETRB CEO emphasises the need for Kenyans to first appreciate local technicians, arguing that they are as good as those from elsewhere.

“We need to acknowledge that by buying products made here, we’re building our people and our country. We have the skills and knowledge to create quality products. Let’s use our resources to support our own.”

But it is taxation of local manufacturing that should be addressed as a matter urgency, Ms Mutai says. “Subscription fees and service fees for the professionals remain high. We must look into this.”

County governments, Ms Mutai continues, need to provide the right infrastructure for engineering technicians, especially motor vehicle mechanics, by providing sheds and water to them, so that they operate without disruptions.

Those in industrial areas too, need a conducive environment to work. “Availing these resources will boost their esteem. They will also feel that their work is appreciated.”

On development of a policy framework to guide the industry, the KETRB CEO says that the document must recognise and support artisans equally, including those who have acquired their skills outside the classroom.

Says she: “We tend to underappreciate the skilled person who has learnt a craft with no papers. The policy must put all at par and give some form of certificate to the artisans who have demonstrated their skill.”

She continues: “An artisan is not worth their papers. He or she is worth what he or she can do.”

Any lessons from elsewhere in the world? To this, Ms Mutai observes that in other countries, MSMEs contribute immensely to their economies. “To realise this, Kenya must support its own,” she says. 

“If we supported them, our economy will perform much better. It will also enable these professionals to cater for their needs, therefore, raising the standards of living for all.”